Paper clip



Oct. 26, 1948. 1.. w. s. ZYCHLINSKI 2,452,514

PAPER CLIP Filed April 17, 1946 1 I M I B) M M 6 mm 'ATTORNEYS PatentedOct. 26, 1948 [TED STATES PATENT OFFICE" 1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to a new and improved paper clip which retainsthe advantages but is free from certain disadavntages of the common wirepaper clips now on the market.

Of the several different types of paper clips now in use none is freefrom certain disadvantages. The type most widely used is a wire paperclip made up of two U-shaped members or jaws parallel with each otherand joined at one end. This clip is easy to apply and easy tomanufacture but possesses a very marked inclination to attach itself toany adjoining file or letter, which results in lost clips, mixed-upfiles and misplaced letters.

The cause of this piratical tendency in this common type of paper cliplies in the fact that one of the jaws or U-shaped portions isconsiderably longer than the other. This difference in length isessential for rapid application of the clip but when applied this longerportion tends to hook onto the edge of any sheet that comes withinrange. Other common types of paper clips which are designed to overcomethis fault are more difi'icult to apply quickly and are of more limiteduse.

The improved clip of the present invention retains the advantage of easeof application and the effective clipping properties of the common andwidely used type above referred to but largely overcomes or minimizesthe objectionable piratical tendency of such prior clips.

The improved clip of the present invention is made up of two generallyU-shaped members united at one end and free at the other and with theU-shaped portions of approximately the sam length so that effectiveclipping action is obtained, but the improved clip has a lateralextension on the outer U-shaped member in the form of a laterallyprojected jaw which facilitates application of the clip withoutinterfering with the clipping action of the clip.

The improved clip is made of fiexible wire and.

is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a sideview of the clip and Fig. 2 an edge view from one side and Fig. 3 anedge view from the other side.

The clip is made up of an inner u-shaped member I and an outer U-shapedmember 2 united at the top at 3. The outer U-shaped member has a lateralextension 4. This lateral extension 4 is advantageously on the side ofthe U-shaped member adjacent the free side 5 and forming a projectinglip extending from the line A-B to the end of the projecting portion 4.

The two U-shaped members including the lateral extension of the outerU-shaped member are in the same plane and the clip can readily be madefrom. flexible wire-by shaping the wire to form a clip of the generalshape shown.

By avoiding the downward projection of the outer U-shaped member andproviding a lateral extension of this member the danger of hooking ontothe edges of adjacent sheets sliding up from below, after the clip hasbeen applied to sheets of paper, is overcome or minimized.

This danger of hooking onto the edges of adjacent sheets can be furtherminimized by the possibility of applying the clip in such a Way that thelateral extension points to the nearest edge of the sheets, which isgenerally the lefthand edge. This decreases the possibility of theadjacent file being caught in the lateral extension, as the right-handedge of the latter would have to be displaced by almost the entire widthof the file before it could engage the lateral extension, which is veryunlikely.

The new clip can be easily and rapidly applied. In applying the clip itis advantageously held at an angle of about 45 to the edge of the sheetsto be joined until the sheets are well between the two jaws. The clip isthen driven down to the normal vertical position.

From the illustration of the new clip it will be seen that the adjacentand parallel sides of the U-shaped members hold the paper between themthroughout the greater part of their length. Also the bottom 6 of theinner U-shaped member is adjacent the portion 1 of the outer U-shapedmember so that there is a clamping action between these end portions aswell as between the parallel side portions or jaws of the clip.

The advantages of the new clip as compared with the common type of cliphaving one U- shaped member much longer than the other is illustrated bya test run on a number of batches of letters, some held by the old clipsand some by the new, with the batches being constantly shuffled back andforth to simulate actual filing conditions. In these tests the number ofoccurrences in which the new clips hooked onto one of the other batcheswas a small fraction of those involving the old type of clip.

Since both U-shaped members of the new clip and the lateral extension ofthe outer U-shaped member lie in the same plane it will be evident thatthe clip can be used with the inner U-shaped member or jaw either on thefront or back of the paper clipped together therewith. In this respectit retains the advantages of the common paper clip with U-shaped jawsone much longer than 3 e the other, while overcoming or minimizing thedisadvantages of such common clips.

I claim:

An improved paper clip of a single piece of flexible wire bent in asingle plane to form inner and outer parallel U-shaped members ofapproximately the same length, the legs of the parallel U-shapecl rrembers lying closely adjao ent one anothergf uilter lufshlaped inejmberhaving a lateral-extending projection at the bottom thereof forfacilitating application of the clip, the portion of the wire formingthe lower edge of said projection extending from the nadir of the baseof the inner U-shaped member, andthe wire fr om that point to a pointwhere it begin'sto feral the parallel leg portion at the side gi theogter q Y shaped member remote from said projection following thecontour and lying closely adjacent the portion of the base. of the innerU-shaped member opposite thereto. u

' LECH W. S.

arena REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in thefile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. .12,17 1 McGill Nov. 17, 1903I 1731,59? Mcqill June 23, 1903 1,785,511 Baden Dec. 16, 1930 2,095,735Dunbar Oct. 12, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date J135387 GreatBritain 1903 665,847 Germany Oct. 5, 1938

